Category Archives: Writing

To help out a buddy who was hosting a poetry slam event in Lexington, I decided to jump into writing and performing poetry. After all, it’s been a year filled with pushing my limits and breaking out of comfort zones, so this just seemed like another opportunity to add a fulfilling experience to my life. And it sure was!

I had already been working on a piece called “Citrine”, based on the girl that I essentially fell head over heels for before she absolutely destroyed my heart this spring, but the main theme of the event was Dada-style political poetry, so I needed to come up with something more topical and save the personal poem for open mic time. My solution was another poem, “Agent Orange”. Although shorter than “Citrine”, I was proud of how quickly it came together to provide a powerful punch.

As far as my performance went – I’d say pretty well, considering that this is the first time I have ever recited poetry to a crowd. It’s definitely not my first public speaking gig, but there is a different dynamic when you’re presenting something you’ve created yourself and have never shared with the world. It was a cathartic experience all around and honestly, I think I’m going to write more when the inspiration hits – that way I’m ready for future events!

Agent Orange

Original Piece “Agent Orange” written and performed by Shelby Jones.

Orange but not the lorax
Weak, stupid coward
You have fooled the masses
Sold our future for gasses

Decisions roll like waves
The waters will foul
You know nothing of the havok you have wrought
But my children will

Did your picture book tell you that EPA meant
Eviscerate
Pillage
Annihilate our beautiful state

I’ve never seen a capitalist cower
Behind a nationalist front
But when you are supported by fascists
I’m not sure what you want

I speak for the trees
And the rivers
And the future you have sold
I will live to watch it unfold

Lucky for us you are just one man
The world stops for no one
She will heal her wounds
When we destroy ourselves

Citrine

I remember the first time I saw her; the girl with the crystal around her neck.
Upturned nose, faint smile, brown eyes behind glass.
NASA shirt, modest mouse, iced coffee to spite the cold
Uncanny, whole, natural beauty & soul

“Good Morning” were your first words to me.
“We’ll See” were your last.
I was too shy to reciprocate.
It took days but I overcame it.

A powerful message on the decline in face to face interactions as a result of our increasingly self-focused society. Something to think about, especially as we enter this time of the year where connecting and celebrating with family and friends becomes even more important.

As an introvert, I often have to force myself to go above and beyond my comfort zone to spend time with others, but it helps me to stay grounded in a world that seems often times very distant and insensitive. Stay grounded, and don’t rush for the outlet the next time your gadgets land in the ‘redzone’ – embrace it.

This is honestly one of the best videos I’ve seen in a while. If you are a pokemon fan like I am (and especially when the games came out back in the mid to late 90’s) you’ll appreciate this. It’s got some salty language, but it’s all in good fun!

The “meme,” a term coined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976, is an extension of Darwin’s Big Idea past the boundaries of genetics. A meme, put simply, is a cultural product that is copied. We humans are enamored of imitation and so become the ultimate “meme machines.” Memes—pieces of culture—copy themselves through history and enjoy a kind of evolution of their own, and they do so riding on the backs of successful genes: ours.